Here We Go Again
by sp0by
Summary: Dan and Serena were high school sweethearts that broke up spontaneously before college. But with both of them going to NYU, their paths will most definitely cross again. What happens when Vanessa, Gossip Girl, and more surrounding forces meddle with their relationship?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

_"I love you!" she exclaimed, a giggle escaping as her blonde hair swept against his neckline, and then straddled herself on his lips, slowly leaning in to kiss him. He laughed as well, running his hands through her hair, a trick he'd learned from the first time they slept together (which was a trick she seemed to enjoy a lot). _

_"I love you more than anything in the world," he told her. "Being here, right now, with you... that's the only thing I want, and this is the only place I want to be."_

_She'd be lying if she said she didn't have her (un)fair share of hook-ups, but she'd never had a proper boyfriend until him, and no guy had ever looked at her the way he did. He was the only guy who had ever truly cared for her, and had not just wanted to screw her for fun because she was Serena van der Woodsen. With him, she didn't feel like a prize. He did treat her like she was everything, but with him, it was never like a game to say that he got to sleep with Serena van der Woodsen._

_"You are amazing," she whispered, biting his lip when they kissed again, which he found insanely hot. "How much time do we have before your dad and Jenny get home?"_

_"Maybe thirty minutes," he guessed. "But, who cares? Let them see the show."_

_She laughed loudly, the laugh he loved so much, and toppled over on the bed with him. She had never felt butterflies in her stomach, and she'd never felt the feeling of loving somebody so much. She was, for once, happy._

PRESENT TIME

"S, you're going to _NYU_," Blair reminded. "Sure, it's not Brown, but you're going to have a good time. And not to mention, Columbia isn't too far, so I'll be seeing you quite often."

The beautiful blonde nodded her head with a sad, sincere smile before saying, "Of course I'm happy to go to NYU. It's an amazing school. I just don't know if I'm ready for a college life. I've spent most of high school partying, and I finally changed my ways, became a better person, and with college, I'm not sure if I can stay that way. Ever since-"

"-Ever since you and Dan broke up?" Blair guessed.

"Yeah," she said, her sad smile remaining.

"As much as I despise Brooklyn Humphrey, I'll have to admit, he changed you for the better," Blair agreed, nodding her head. "But you're Serena. He doesn't define who you are. You don't need him to be a good person. You can have fun in college. Just don't go overboard. And call me frequently."_  
_

"You know I'm not going to stop calling you, B," Serena laughed, smiling happily. "I just... I don't know how to navigate myself without being with him. I still don't even understand what happened between us. Why did we break up?"

"That is what you can discuss with him when you arrive at NYU!" Blair exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Thanks for reminding me," Serena said, sighing. "Not only will I have to try and be a good person in college, but I also have to go with my ex-boyfriend, and watch as he probably has the time of his life with other girls."

"You're overestimating his skill," Blair laughed, rolling her eyes. "The only thing Dan Humphrey will be kissing is his pillow, because girls at college aren't going to chase after him. Trust me. And, if you want to keep him captivated with you, just hook up with him every now and then. He'll be so chained to you that he won't go after any girls."

"Dan is a great guy, and I know girls are going to go after him, B!" Serena cried. "Especially Vanessa."

"We all know V has had a major crush on him for years, but she'd never getting D's D, trust me," Blair said with a smirk. "D's D is all yours, van der Woodsen."

* * *

After finally getting settled into her room, Serena sent a text to Dan. She didn't want to sound obsessed or anything, but she needed to see him in college for the first time. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't responding to his phone. And Blair didn't want any interruptions while she was on her date with Chuck, so she was hopeless and alone.

Luckily for her, while she was sitting outside and desperately waiting for Dan to respond to her, she saw a familiar face. It wasn't exactly one she was super joyous to see, but it was one who could help her locate him.

"Vanessa!" the blonde exclaimed, standing up.

"Oh, um, hey, Serena," the Brooklyn girl greeted, scratching her head. "How are you adjusting?"

"Fine, thanks," she said, biting her lip. "I was wondering if you've seen Dan, or at least know where his room is."

"I do," Vanessa responded. "I haven't seen him today, but I'll write you down his dorm room. You guys aren't back together, are you?"

Serena let out a nervous laugh before saying, "No, we're not. We're still broken up, but I'm not sure if that decision was the right one to make—"

"You're having withdrawals and second thoughts?" Vanessa asked curiously.

"I guess, but don't tell," she pleaded. "I'm not going to his room to win him back. I just want to see how things feel now that we're only friends. You can keep a secret, right?"

The Brooklyn girl faked a smile before saying, "Of course. I have no reason to tell him, anyways. I should probably call Nate. We haven't talked much since I got here. Here's Dan's room, by the way."

She handed Serena the piece of paper, and they went their separate ways. The blonde nervously approached the room that Vanessa had written down for her. She honestly was... _really_ scared. They spent almost all of high school together as a couple, and all of a sudden, things crashed after graduation day. They sort of remained friends, but didn't really talk much after their break up. How was she supposed to act like his best friend when they were high school sweethearts?

"Dan," she nervously greeted, knocking on the door. "It's me... Serena."

However, her knock caused the door to open. It seemed he had forgotten to lock it, but it was more of a negative for Serena. On the bed of Dan's room was Humphrey and a new girl. Serena's heart fell to her stomach. She hated seeing him like that. They weren't just talking- they were kissing on his bed. If she hadn't walked in, would they have had sex? Serena liked knowing that she was the _only_ girl Dan had slept with. It killed her to see him with other girls.

"S-Serena!" he cried, pushing the girl off of him. "This is um, my friend, Tiffany."

"Hi, Tiffany," the blonde unenthusiastically said. "I'm also one of Dan's 'friends'."

"Tiff, maybe you should go," Dan quietly said to the other girl. "I think I need to talk to my other friend here... alone. Her name's Serena, by the way."

Tiffany didn't even offer a word to either of them before exiting his room. Serena stood there, arms crossed. She knew she couldn't be mad at him. They were broken up. He had every right to sleep with Tiffany if he wanted to, but she still didn't like it. She didn't know how she was going to explain why she was so upset about it, but she had to say something. Dan already knew she was upset.

"Tiffany?" Serena asked, arms still folded.

"I can explain," he tried, biting his lip. "We were talking in the coffee shop, and she asked if she could come see my book collection, and then she kissed me. I wasn't planning it, and I didn't know you were dropping by. I'm so sorry, Serena."

"I... I shouldn't even be mad," she quietly said. "We're broken up, Dan."

He scratched his neck, understanding what she was saying. If they were broken up, why did it feel like he had just cheated on her with Tiffany? She felt like it was cheating, and so did he!

"What if we shouldn't have?" Dan asked, which confused her.

"Shouldn't have broken up?" she guessed.

He nodded his head and elaborated, "I've been with a few girls since we broke up. I didn't sleep with them. I couldn't. Kissing them and talking to them... if never felt as special as everything felt with you, Serena."

"I-" she began.

He cupped her cheeks and kissed her gently, his hands running down to hold her waist. His lips moved down to her neck, causing a moan to escape from her mouth. They tumbled onto Dan's bed, their lips fiercely pressing against each other. Dan reached for the hem of her shirt, slowly pulling it over her head, and tossing it to the floor. She started to unbutton his shirt as they continued kissing. It felt like magic to be reunited with him.

"How did I know this was going to happen?"

They paused from their bed kissing and looked up at the doorway in unison- Vanessa Abrams.

"How many times do I get walked in on in a day...?" Dan mumbled, sitting up. "Hello, Vanessa."

"Humphrey," she acknowledged. "Serena."

"Can I help you with something?" Dan asked, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Yeah, yeah you can," she said, rolling her eyes. "What happened to being broken up? I literally talked to Serena like ten minutes ago, and she said you guys were over, and she wanted to talk to you as a friend! I should have known that things_ always_ go back to this way. Dan, you always just crawl back to her."

He sighed and said, "Vanessa, I didn't ask for your approval. I don't tell you what to do with Nate. And to be fair, a lot can happen in ten minutes."

"Look, I hate to interrupt your sex, but Nate wants to talk to you, Dan," Vanessa announced. "That's why I came back here. I just got off the phone with him, and he wants to see you. He says it's important, too."

"If Nate needs you, then..." Serena began.

"Thank you," Dan said, smiling at her and pecking her cheek. "Can we talk when I get back? Or maybe... not talk?"

She bit her lip with a smile and agreed, "That sounds amazing. Give me a call when you get back from Nate's."

* * *

"You're making a mistake if you're planning on getting back together with her when you get back."

"It's not a mistake if I'm still in love with her," Dan told her. "We had the best relationship last year, and that ending was a mistake. I still want to be with her. I love her. I do."

"Or maybe you're just trapped because she's Serena van der Woodsen, and like every guy would die to get into her pants. The only thing is, you have easy access to her pants because you were her high school sweetheart," Vanessa told him. "It was just puppy love. You should be over her by now. It's time to find your true love."

"She is my true love," Dan said with a smile. "And shut up!" He laughed as he continued, "Easy access? Really? I think it's a sign that summer shouldn't have been the end of us. The sign being that I'm still not over her. Are you just being negative because Nate broke up with you right now? Because you're being awfully quiet about that."

"No, no, I sort of wanted things between us to end," Vanessa said. "There's this other guy I kinda like right now."

"Care to give me a name?" Dan asked, grinning.

"No, that's alright," Vanessa laughed. "I feel you might blab to him, so we'll keep all names under wraps. That doesn't mean I didn't like Nate, though, because I did. I always sort of knew he had a thing for Jenny."

"I can't believe he called me over there to ask permission to try and win Jenny," Dan said, shaking his head.

"You almost punching him made it sort of clear that he doesn't have Dan Humphrey's blessing," Vanessa joked.

"I just don't want Nate Archibald's hands all over my little sister," Dan said with a sigh. "He can go after her, but I'm not going to support that relationship. At least for now. Let's hurry. I need to get back and give Serena a call."

"You're making a mistake," Vanessa warned.

He rolled his eyes, and pulled out his phone when he heard a ring. It was an alert. Gossip Girl just posted another blast. He glared at it when he opened it.

"I can't believe it," Dan muttered.

"What happened?" Vanessa asked, grabbing his phone from his hand.

_Hey, Upper East Siders. Looks like Serena van der Woodsen has given up her Dan Humphrey days and moved from Brooklyn to better. She can't seem to keep her hands off of Carter Baizen. But who would blame her? He's high society. She really got the upgrade this time!_

Attached was a photo of Serena kissing Carter Baizen, just like the article said. Dan had to admit, he was disappointed. He thought he had a chance getting back together with her. But he didn't call for like a few hours, and she already found a new guy to kiss?

"Don't sweat it, Dan," she advised. "I knew it was a mistake, anyways. She means so much to you, yet you're so replaceable to her. She can find somebody rich and better than you in seconds. She was a phase. Always a waste of time."

"I wanted to believe that she was a good person," he said, sighing. "I would have understood if we didn't have that talk about getting back together earlier, but we did! She made it seem like she wanted to, and then she kisses Carter Baizen? It doesn't make sense. Serena's always been a good person to me."

"That's what you don't get," Vanessa said with a sigh. "She's not a good person. She never has been! You were blinded by your adolescent crush on her. It's time you see her for who she really is. I hate to say it, but behind the scenes, she's a manipulative bitch."

Dan swallowed hard and said, "It's just... whatever, Vaness. I need to get back to my room."

* * *

"Hey, B," Serena said into the phone. "I hope Columbia is all good, and I hope you're having a great time with Chuck tonight. I just wanted to let you know that I think Dan and I are going to get back together. We were making out earlier, but then he had to go see Nate. He said he'll call when he gets back."

"Making out with Humphrey? You're dirty, S!" Blair exclaimed. "Today with Chuck was perfect. Tell me if D and S reunite tonight."

"I will, Blair," Serena said with a smile. "I should go. I don't want to miss Dan's call."

"Night, S."

She hung up the phone and waited excitedly for Dan to call her. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't checked Gossip Girl, so she had no clue that he, and the whole world, knew all about her dirty little secret kiss with Carter!

* * *

Dan stared at his phone. Despite what she did, he still wanted to call her. Part of him just wanted to believe that Serena wouldn't do that to him. That wasn't the girl he has fallen in love with during junior and senior year of high school. Vanessa made it seem like she was nothing but a bad person, but after dating her for two years, he felt like he knew her enough to know she wouldn't hurt him that way.

But it had to be true. The photo with Carter was date-stamped to the same day and everything. Plus, people were talking about how Serena became close friends with Carter over the summer, after Dan and Serena broke up.

"Don't do it, Humphrey ," Vanessa advised. "Don't call her. She's only going to hurt you. Restrain yourself. I'm going to get going."

He sighed as Vanessa left. He stared at his phone, contemplating hard if he should call Serena or not. He felt that Vanessa was right, though. She could replace him so easily. Guys like Dan Humphrey never ended up with perfect girls like Serena. Even Cece Rhodes told him they ended up with people like Carter.

With that, he put his phone to charge, and didn't call Serena that night.

* * *

**Few notes:**

**-Nate was still in love with Jenny while dating Vanessa**

**-Gossip Girl is not Dan**

**-Serena and Dan dated throughout all of 11th and 12th grade, then broke up over the summer**

**-Blair's at Columbia, Serena, Dan, and Vanessa are at NYU, and Georgina isn't there**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

_"Dan?"_

_When she saw the warm brown eyes, she knew it was him. Her heart stopped panicking, until she noticed the expression on his face. It was far more than just worried. It was distraught. She rarely ever saw him this way. He was usually her happy, cheerful boyfriend. Without even asking what happened, she got up from her bed, and pulled him into a long, long hug._

_"Your mom let me in," he whispered, hugging her back. "I-"_

_"It's okay," she promised, even though she didn't know what happened with him._

_"It finally happened," he mumbled quietly. "My mom and dad got divorced. I knew it was coming, Jenny and I always had the feeling. But now that it's actually been finalized... my mom packed her bags and left for Hudson again, probably to go make out with that stupid Alex guy. And I just keep thinking this is my dad's opportunity to try and date your mom."_

_"I'm so sorry," she whispered, kissing his cheek. "It was hard when my parents got divorced, too. But whatever happens, I'm not going to lose you. I know that you and I are serious about this, and my mom knows it damn well. Nothing can change this. I will always love you, Dan."_

_"Can we take our minds off of our parents?" Dan asked. "I wanted to tell you what happened today, but I also just wanted to take my mind off of it. And I know there's nobody who can make me happier than you."_

_Serena looked into his eyes sincerely, repeating, "Of course."_

_They stayed on her bed, and she wrapped her arms around him, coaxing him. The day wasn't perfect, but Serena certainly was the highlight of his day. With some movie and being in Serena's arms, there really wasn't any place he would have rather been than there._

Serena woke up to the sound of emptiness. Dan wasn't there, and then she immediately remembered how the prior night ended. It ended badly, and that's just the start of it. After hanging up with Blair, she waited for hours, but Dan's call never came. That wasn't her expectation of how the night would end- with her crying because he didn't call. She was looking forward to it. Was there a reason? Did he forget to call her?

She was expecting a lustful, exciting night. Her hands running through Dan's brown hair... their lips pressed against each other's. And she was certainly hoping to wake up next to him the next morning, to say it subtly.

She wasn't going to miss the opportunity to fix things, though. Immediately, she jumped out of bed and put something decent on, and then headed out to find Dan. She was going to find out why he didn't call, and she was going to find out exactly how he felt about her. After their very intimate kissing, she was almost _positive _Dan had feelings for her, unless he was using her to take his mind off of Tiffany, but she didn't think so.

Or maybe it _was_ true, because as soon as she made it to his room, she saw Tiffany leaving it.

"There she is," Dan muttered, shaking his head. "Serena van der Woodsen, present and ready to make excuses."

"What?" Serena asked. "Why didn't you call me last night? And why is Tiffany leaving your room?"

"You should know why I didn't call you last night," Dan said, rolling his eyes. "And I don't owe you an explanation for Tiffany. You're not my girlfriend. I'm done being toyed with. Go play with Carter Baizen."

"I seriously don't know what you're talking about!" Serena yelled. "I may not be your girlfriend, but why would you sleep with Tiffany when you promised me that you'd call me after you got back from Nate's?"

"You actually expected me to call you after you betrayed me like that?" Dan asked. "Just for the record, I didn't sleep with Tiffany. I merely invited her over to talk about a possible relationship in the future, and we kissed. Now, we're not together or anything, but I'd certainly rather hang out with her than you. Get out."

"I don't even know what I did to you to make you hate me this much," she sighed.

"If you honestly don't see what the fault in your actions yesterday was, then I'm glad we didn't get back together," Dan said, folding his arms. "Vanessa really helped me dodge a bullet. We almost slept together yesterday. I can't thank her enough for walking in on us. Now leave."

"You're an idiot," Serena snapped, rolling her eyes. "I thought you were the good guy."

"_Wow_. I'm the bad guy in all of this?" Dan asked, shaking his head. "We don't ever need to speak again, Serena. I'm done with this."

"Glad we finally agree on something today," Serena sarcastically said, storming out of his room, slamming the door on her way out.

Upon arriving back to her own room, she received a call from Blair. She sighed when she picked it up. Of course, she always wanted to be a good friend to Blair, but with her own Dan problems, she wasn't exactly in the mood to give her advice on Chuck, which was usually what she called for.

"S, we have a major problem!" Blair cried through the phone.

"What did Chuck do this time, B?" Serena asked, sighing loudly.

"Chuck and I are perfectly fine," Blair said, rolling her eyes. "This is about _you_. I know you're probably waking up with Dan right now, but I would make sure he steers clear of Gossip Girl, because there's a pretty nasty rumor going on, and it makes you look like a cheater. Please tell me it isn't true, or things with Dan are _not_ going to work out when he sees it."

"I have nothing to worry about with him. We didn't get back together last night," Serena told her. "He never called, and I asked him why today, but he's mad at me for no reason. I don't even know what I did to him!"

"Oh, sweetie, check Gossip Girl immediately, because she has all your answers," Blair informed her. "It looks like Gossip Girl's just written a false article about how you've been secretly seeing Carter Baizen, and I'll assume that's why Dan's pissed at you."

"No wonder he mentioned Carter when I went to see him..." Serena muttered, sighing. "This doesn't make sense! I kissed Carter _once_ over the summer, and I was just trying to get over Dan after we broke up. I haven't seen him since I told him it was a mistake."

"Gossip Girl is the master of making people believe lies," Blair said. "Someone must have sent in a tip with a photo of you kissing Carter from the summer with yesterday's date stamp on it. So, that explains why Dan didn't want to call you. He thinks you're switching off between him and Carter. If I was him, I wouldn't want that, either."

"I have to make things right with him," Serena said, sighing. "Thank you for helping me, B. I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything, but you really do owe Dan something, because now he's probably angrily thinking about what a bitch you were to him," Blair reminded. "But who would have sent that tip in? They would have really wanted to make sure you don't get back together with him. As much as I'm not Team Dan or anything, I wouldn't do that to you."

"For some strange reason, I think I have an idea of who did this to me," Serena said.

"What? Seriously? Who do you think it is?" Blair asked.

"Vanessa."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_"Is it true?" _

_He gave her a look before furrowing his eyebrows and saying, "No. Of course not. I can't believe that you would even believe that. I thought you had more trust in me, but what you're saying right now really makes it look like you don't trust me at all."_

_"It's hard to trust and believe you when everybody else thinks it's true," she told him._

_"Well, what they say shouldn't matter," he said, folding his arms. "You should have enough trust in me to believe me when I say that I didn't cheat on you, and I never will. Why is this so hard to believe for you, Serena?"_

_"Because you've always been so close with her, and I've always just been the jealous girlfriend!" Serena cried. "I don't know where we stand anymore, Dan."_

_"We stand... right here," he whispered, kissing her lips gently. "You're the only person I love, and you're crazy if you think I'm cheating on you with Vanessa. She's like a sister to me. Would you date your sister?"_

_"So nothing's going on between you two?" Serena asked._

_"Obviously not!" he laughed, cupping her cheeks and caressing them gently. "I'm never going to date Vanessa. Never ever. You're mine, and you're the only person that I want to date. I can promise you that, van der Woodsen."_

_She smiled an adorable smile before kissing his cheek softly._

_"Okay, I believe you now," she said, grinning widely._

_"Should have believed me the first second I told you," Dan said, still cupping her cheeks. "No matter how mad I am at you, ever, I will always be in love with you, and I will never want to be with anyone else. And that definitely means I'll never want to be with Vanessa."_

_"I'm sorry. I love you, Dan," Serena said, giggling as she hugged him tight._

"S, are you sure that a cheap, low-light dinner is what is going to win Dan's heart back for you?" Blair asked, folding her arms. "The way I would have an explaining dinner is making it big and grand. He won't be able to turn it down if it's grand."

"Dan's from Brooklyn, B. I know him. He hates it when everything is the rich lifestyle way. I learned that on our first date," Serena said with a laugh. "Pool tables are our thing, and so are cheap dinners. I'll explain to him that the Carter photo was just date stamped to recently, and hopefully he'll believe me, and then we can have a fun night together playing pool and-"

"Having sex?" Blair joked, laughing.

"You should be leaving now," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, a poor person date is what you want, even when you have all the money you need, then suit yourself," Blair said, shrugging it off.

"It's not about the money, B. It never has been with Dan," Serena confidently said. "He's always been in it for the love of it, and never the money. And maybe because we don't need a rich, classy dinner to have fun... that's one of the reasons that I love him so much."

"Okay, I did not ask for sap time," Blair said, shaking her head. "Chuck and I have plans ourselves. Don't do anything dangerous."

"Thank you for coming, by the way," Serena said, kissing Blair's cheek before she left.

* * *

Dan was walking with Vanessa to his room, and then his phone buzzed. He sighed when he found out that it was a text from Serena saying that she wanted to meet for dinner that night. He wanted to go, but after the Carter thing, he was pissed off. Of course he loved her, but it was hard when he was always just the poor guy from Brooklyn. Rich, handsome guys wanted to be with Serena, just like Carter, and he would never be good enough for Serena. Serena would always want more. Average girls like Tiffany had no problem making out with guys like Dan in public. They didn't require high-class guys.

"It's her again, isn't it?" Vanessa asked.

"It is," Dan answered. "Maybe I should go. Maybe I should hear her side of the story. She always heard mine."

"Dan, when are you going to get the message?" Vanessa said, sighing. "She is _Serena van der Woodsen_. He's _Carter Baizen_. They're both rich, they're both classy. She may claim that she wants to give you guys a try again, but think about it... she really just wants to kiss a new guy every night. It might be Carter today, and then Nate Archibald tomorrow. I knew Nate and I weren't going to work out because he's... Nate. You and I, Dan... We're just the poor, disrespected kids from Brooklyn. People like Nate and Serena will never give us the same respect that they give their socially elite friends."

"Vanessa," Dan said, frowning. "I dated Serena for so long, and she's not like that. She's always been faithful. Maybe it's far-fetched, but I have just a speck of hope that thinks that maybe Gossip Girl is messing with me, and Serena didn't kiss Carter before we were about to get back together."

"Gossip Girl doesn't always twist the truth. Sometimes she wants to reveal the truth so scandals happen. And it is _so _Serena to kiss Carter Baizen," Vanessa said.

"So I should tell Serena that I'm not coming for dinner?" Dan asked. "Maybe I should hear her out."

"Oh, and listen to _her_ twist the truth and say that she didn't really kiss Carter, and it was a doctored photo?" Vanessa asked, raising her eyebrows. "Dan, she's going to lure you back in with her lies."

"She was a good girlfriend," Dan defended.

"I'm done playing games. If you want to be with somebody that is always going to hurt you in the end, then text Serena back and tell her that you'll meet her," Vanessa said, sighing. "But you should know. There's a good person who wants to be with you. Someone who's honest, and won't lie to you about stupid things. Someone who will always love you."

"Tiffany? I don't think she loves me-" Dan began.

"No, Dan. It's _me_. I love you," Vanessa confessed. "We've been friends forever, and it's been killing me. I liked Nate, but I've always wanted to be with you. When Nate broke up with me, and when you weren't going to get back together with Serena, I thought that maybe you and I have a shot. Do we?"

"Vanessa, come on," he said, sighing. "You wouldn't want to be with me when you _know_ that I'm still in love with Serena."_  
_

"But I do," Vanessa told him. "Things would be easy for us. We're so close already. You're the best guy I've ever known, and you deserve way better than someone who will lie to you all the time. Just say yes already."

"Vanessa..." he muttered.

"I love you unconditionally, but Serena will always have her own world going on. Our worlds? They're combined. Your world is my world," she said, and leaned in to kiss his lips gently.

He didn't kiss back at first, but thinking about what Vanessa said- Serena was definitely going to hurt him again. How could he know that there wouldn't ever be another Carter incident? Vanessa had been his friend for so long. He couldn't say he was in love with her, but he wanted to give her a try. Maybe she was better than Serena. Serena was the perfect girlfriend to him, maybe because he had never had a girlfriend before. With Vanessa being his second girlfriend, he had experience. And maybe experience was what he needed for a perfect relationship.

"I'll take that as a yes," Vanessa said, smiling and grabbing Dan's hand.

* * *

Serena sat alone at her pool table dinner. It was supposed to be a perfect, magical night. She was expecting Dan to come over, for her to explain that the whole Carter thing was a set up, and she would never hurt him like that, and then they would have such a good time. They could eat, play pool, and maybe even end the night with some romantic bedtime. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss having sex with Dan, as weird as it was to admit in her brain. To be honest, she missed everything with Dan. Not just the kissing and the sex, but the talking, the cuddling, the laughing... everything. Everything was amazing with Dan. Their break up was nothing but a mistake.

There was a knock on Serena's door. She rushed over and opened it, but was baffled when she saw Carter Baizen standing there. He looked sorry, but she didn't understand why he came. Was it because of the photo? He actually came all the way to see her because of a photo of them kissing from the summer being posted on Gossip Girl as if they kissed recently? He was probably somewhere exotic in the world, and he came back for a photo?

"Carter."

"Hi, Serena," he said, scratching his head. "I saw the Gossip Girl post."

"I figured," Serena muttered. "But that doesn't explain what you're doing here, Carter."

"I wanted to know if you're alright," Carter told her. "Are you on a date?"

"It was supposed to be... for..." she began.

"Dan?" Carter guessed.

She nodded her head, and almost started crying. Instantly, Carter pulled her into a hug, rubbing her sweet blonde hair.

"It's alright, Serena," he said, pulling back from the hug. "Dan is a real jerk. He didn't believe you about the photo, and then he already starts dating another girl? That's pathetic and messed up. I can't believe he would break your heart like that."

"Wait, he's dating Tiffany?" Serena asked, shocked. "He told me he's not! He said they were just kissing."

"_Two_ girls, then?" Carter asked, baffled. "Serena, I didn't hear about him dating this Tiffany girl. It was someone named Vanessa Abrams or something like that."

"Vanessa Abrams?" Serena asked, shaking her head. "You're making a mistake. You probably think they're dating, but they're not. Dan and Vanessa are just really close friends. They've been friends since they were little kids, so it's easy to think that their closeness is more than a friendship."

"Well, they posted a picture where Dan is kissing her forehead, and Vanessa just updated her status to say 'in a relationship with Dan Humphrey', so I'm guessing that this time, they're definitely more than just friends," Carter told her.

"He told me he would never date Vanessa!" Serena cried.

"You didn't belong with a jerk like Dan, anyways," Carter told her. "I came all the way from Paris for you. I would do anything for you, Serena. I want to be with you. I was desperately hoping that we would happen over the summer, but you made it clear that you just wanted to be with Dan, and I was only a rebound. That's why I jetted off to Paris. I hated being rejected by you. I still have feelings for you, Serena."

"Carter, I know you didn't come here just to check up on me," Serena said.

"You're right, I didn't. Of course that was a part of it, but I also wanted to ask you out," Carter confessed. "I had to tell you how I felt before you made a mistake with anyone else. Make a mistake with me instead, but I'll make sure you don't regret this mistake. Give me a chance to prove to you that I can be the god damn best boyfriend you could ask for. I'll make sure you're always happy. I'll work my ass off to be the best boyfriend I can. Will you give me a shot already?"

"No, I'm sorry, Carter," Serena said, sighing. "It's really sweet of you to come all the way here for me, but I'm not going to date you while I'm still in love with Dan. It wouldn't be fair for either of us."

"Funny, because that ass is no good for you. If he's really in love with you, then why would he date Vanessa the minute you and him don't work out?" Carter asked, folding his arms. "You missed a chance to be with someone who actually cares about you, and is willing to try. But no, you pick Dan, the guy who won't even give you a chance to explain yourself, and automatically assumes you're a slut. Rich choice, Serena. I'm leaving."

She felt bad for rejecting Carter, but she wasn't going to be with him when she knew her heart still belonged to Dan. Unfortunately, Dan wasn't smart enough to turn Vanessa down when _his_ heart still belonged to Serena. He was so blind that he didn't give the person he loved most a chance to explain.


End file.
